Teeth as Tough as Nails
by smellslikesalvation
Summary: Dean is new, and Cas is conflicted. (My random, fluffy, college AU with a side of light angst. Sorry for the shitty description. I literally can't think of anything better.)
1. Chapter 1

_AN at the end..._

* * *

Cas taps his pen against his notebook, even though he can feel the glares his classmates are giving him. He couldn't care less, mostly because he's already read all of Shakespeare, and they were reading _Othello,_ which Cas read as a junior in high school. He's a sophomore in college now.

The door opens right when the teacher is about to start the class, and in walks a new kid, handing her a slip of paper. Tall, light brown hair, green eyes. Completely normal, completely average kid. Kind of handsome.

Cas doesn't pay New Guy any more attention than the lesson the teacher was giving. Instead, he works on his Physics homework, which is basically hieroglyphics to him. He's trying to focus, but the teacher is droning on and on about everything _surrounding_ _Othello_, and not directly talking about it.

Teachers, these days. That's why Cas wants to become a teacher. Everybody's attention on him and not one of his many brothers and sisters.

Speaking of siblings, Cas turns on his phone, smiling at his wallpaper of the now-six-month-old-twins his mother is holding. The newest additions to the Novak household, Ion and Inias. Rachel was next to them, smiling up at the camera with big rosy cheeks.

Cas had missed the birth, since he studied abroad this past spring in England. His mother called him right before he left and told him two things. One, he had a cousin in the area of England Cas was going named Balthazar, and two, he had two more brothers.

Balthazar was, in Cas' total honest opinion, crazy. He slept between the hours of noon and six, getting up, and just _starting_ the day. He drank, which in England is legal, yet Cas wasn't used to it (still isn't), slept with men and women alike, and regarded every single rule thrown at him with a dismissive wave.

Cas absolutely loved it there. He wants to go back soon, but he needs a job and money, no matter how loud Balthazar drunkenly yells that he can pay for it all.

To make money, Cas decided to advertise tutoring in Shakespeare, since he has read and understood every book, play, and novel. So far, no takers.

The class is over, _Thank the Lord_, and Cas packs up slowly. His phone starts vibrating, and Cas sees it's a number he doesn't know. He's about to ignore it when he realizes it might be someone calling about the tutoring.

"Hello?" He says as he exits the classroom and slowly heads to the coffee shop about ten minutes from here.

There's a pause, and then, "Uh, hi. Is this, uh," Cas hears paper rustling at the other end, "Castiel Novak?"

Cas clears his throat, mysteriously going dry at the person's voice. "Yes. How can I help you?"

Another pause, a quick intake of breath, people murmuring in the background. "I just started this English course, and we're learning about Shakespeare and _Othello_ and I'm already totally lost."

"So you want help?" Cas asks, because technically, the guy didn't ask yet.

"Yeah. Can we meet today?"

Cas has to look at his phone for a moment, one because he's never actually tutored anyone besides his younger siblings, and two, this is probably the new kid in his class. "Today?"

The guy chuckles. "Like I said, completely lost."

He smiles a little. "Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?" Cas looks forward, and sighs happily at the sight of the cafe.

"The library, I guess?" The guy says, sounding a little unsure. _Never been tutored then_, Cas thinks. _Something in common._

"Awesome," Cas responds, and finally opens the door to the shop, and breathes in the scent of baked goods and coffee. "I'm free after four."

"I have something at four so maybe 4:45?" He asks.

Cas agrees, and hangs up before he realizes he has no idea what the guy's name is. _This is going to be a fun evening._

It's his turn to order. He doesn't even have to look up as he pulls out his wallet. "Medium mocha cappuccino." He gets out the crumpled five dollar bill, and he goes to hand it to the cashier, when his eyes widen.

New Guy's standing there, mouth hanging open. Cas glances over his shoulder at the other, students, tapping their feet impatiently. Cas shoves the bill over he counter, face persuasive enough to get him moving.

He moves too fast and Cas can't read his name tag before the guy turns his back to make his drink. Cas moves to the side a little to let the next person place their order. New Guy refuses to look anywhere but at the machine he's using.

It beeps, and Cas is so focused on New Guy's back to notice a pair of arms start to wrap around his waist and tighten their hold. Cas jumps, and he looks at the culprit.

"Damn it, Jo!" He says, but hugs her back anyway.

"I haven't seen you since Monday," Jo says, thumping his back with her fist once.

Cas shrugs. "It's only Thursday, Jo. No need to dismember me yet."

Jo lets go, and takes a step back, then punches him in the shoulder. Cas groans, but doesn't give her the satisfaction of rubbing his arm.

"You have a problem," Cas says.

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, _I'm_ the one with a problem-"

"Uh, Castiel?" New Guy says, accidentally interrupting Jo.

Cas grabs his drink, and sees New Guy's name. He smiles as he glances at him. "See you at 4:45, Dean."

Cas manhandles Jo to the back of the shop so Dean doesn't see the blush encompassing most of his upper body.

Jo raises an eyebrow when they reach a table out of sight of the front area. "Who was that?" She asks.

"Nobody," Cas says hurriedly. He drinks his cappuccino carelessly, and burns his entire mouth. "Damn it!"

"You seem a bit..." Jo searches for the right word, "flustered."

Cas glares at her. "Shut up, Jo. I am n-"

"Castiel?"

"What?" Cas snaps, then slaps a hand over his mouth. He sees Dean standing there, stupid apron tied around his stupid neck and waist, with his stupid mouth open again. _You're such a child_, he thinks to himself.

Dean swallows, and holds out his fist, then drops money on the table. "You forgot your change," he says, then rushes back to the register, and Cas' apology dies on his tongue.

Jo looks far more amused than she should in this situation. "Go to hell, Jo," Cas says as he rests his forehead in his palms.

"Let's go together." Jo chuckles, and holds out her hand. "Give me your Physics homework."

Cas reluctantly grabs his bag, and hands her the notebook. She flips through, making faces at Cas' equations, as well as making disapproving noises to accompany the faces.

"You should just drop the class," she says as she flattens the papers down with her hands.

He grunts. "Nothing better."

Jo rolls her eyes, but doesn't respond. She starts to write, and Cas is forced to think in the humming silence of the shop.

He really didn't mean to scare Dean or whatever, and he feels a little bad he didn't say anything as Dean left. A simple, "Dean," would've stopped him (Cas thinks), and then an, "I'm sorry," to end it.

Tutoring is going to be a little strange at first, with Cas' inexperience with other people in general, plus, he hates to admit it, Dean's somewhat, almost, sort of, conventionally attractive.

_No, no, bad Cas,_ Cas chastises. This has to go well; it's his take-off point for raking in the money. England is waiting for him.

* * *

_It's been a while since I last wrote something, and I've decided that I'm done watching season 9. I'm having some personal problems with the show, and I don't want to think about what they're doing to Destiel anymore. But I will continue writing as long as I have ideas (and I have a bunch, just getting them into words and actual stories is a bitch and a half), plus I have school, so I might not be able to update as often as I want. Fear not, for I will never leave a work unfinished._


	2. Chapter 2

_I guess I should add that I'm not in college, so if I get anything wrong, oops. And sorry for the long wait..._

* * *

It's 4:35, and Cas is vibrating. Part excitement, part fear. He has his own, worn copy of _Othello_ on the table in front of him, and to pass the time, he pulls out his Physics homework to solve the equations Jo fixed.

Jo was right, though. Cas really should just drop the class. It was a waste of his time and he will never understand when he would ever use this in life. But, as Cas had said before, there were no other _interesting_ classes for him to take.

Cas bites his lip and rereads the problem. He erases the number he wrote down and writes the correct one. He's intent on finishing this, hopefully before Dean gets here, so of course he doesn't notice someone staring at him.

"Fucking finally," Cas says as he writes down the last answer.

He hears someone say, "Sorry I'm late."

Cas glances up, then at his watch. It's five o'clock. He whistles. "Wow. I didn't even notice." Cas looks at Dean, and sees him avoiding Cas' gaze. He sighs. "Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean snaps his gaze to Cas, and frowns. "What for?" He says as he sits in the chair across from Cas.

"At the cafe. My friend, Jo, was bothering me and I didn't mean to, uh," Cas trails off as Dean starts chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"Dude," Dean says, clearing his throat, "don't worry about it." And Cas could've sworn he saw Dean's cheeks redden, but Dean turns to grab something from his bag. Right, tutoring time.

_Othello_ gets the most attention it's ever got (before today, that is) during their hour together. The teacher wanted the class to read the entire book over the summer, and then each week for five weeks, they would break down each act. It's Thursday, second week of his second year of school, and they're just finishing up Act I. So Dean has a lot to catch up on.

By 5:40, Dean's given up and his copy of the play is tucked in his bag as he talks about the small cuts on his hands. Apparently, being a mechanic is more dangerous than Cas thought.

"What kind of car do you have?" Dean asks.

Cas has to think about it. "I think it's a Chevy Camaro."

Dean's eyes widen for half a second before narrowing. "What color?"

"Uh, black?" Cas says. "But my brother put a red stripe on it as a prank."

"Nice," Dean says, and looks at his hands. "So your brother..."

"Gabriel."

Dean nods. "Gabriel. He the only sibling you have?"

Cas shakes his head with a smile. "Sometimes, I wish. It's Michael, Gabriel, Hester, me, Rachel, and the twins, Ion and Inias." Cas wants to pull out his phone and show Dean the babies, but he keeps it in his pocket. He _does_ laugh at Dean's mild state of shock. "What?"

"I always wanted another brother or sister," Dean says, "but I think I'll stick with Sammy for now."

"Sammy?"

Dean makes a strange smile-frown with his face. "Sam. My brother," but he doesn't go further than that.

Cas doesn't push it, and decides it's a wrap, and starts to pack up. He can see movement across from him, and then Dean's shoving thirty bucks under his nose. Cas just raises an eyebrow until Dean explains.

"For the session?"

"Oh," Cas says. "Well, I consider this more of a test run than an actual session, so free of charge." At Dean's too happy face, Cas adds, "Don't think it applies to future lessons."

Dean shakes his head, shoving the money in his pocket. "Of course not," but he's smirking. Cas rolls his eyes, and walks away.

* * *

"And today, we welcome a new member into our society. Everybody, please give a warm welcome to Naomi." Raphael stood at the front of the classroom, next to a red-haired girl, whose smile was eerily similar to the sharp-toothed one Raphael wore.

She doesn't wave. "I can't wait to help out however I can."

Anna, the _first_ red-head in the club, sits next to Cas, and they both glance at each other. Cas had first joined the club freshmen year, volunteering for the bake sales and eventually joining full time. Anna joined a few months after that, and showed Cas how wrong everything was. Nobody really left the club, and were either forced out, or showed up to the next meeting with a pained smile and suspicious bruises on their arms.

"I don't like this. Not one bit," Anna whispers in his ear. Cas has to agree. Naomi is staring at the two of them like she wants to take them apart, and Raphael looks like he would just encourage her.

Cas flinches as Raphael's booming voice announces the end of meeting, and he's ready to leave when a hand on his shoulder stops him. "Castiel. Naomi asked who the most capable member of our society was, and I knew right away you were the one for this."

He stands up straighter, and nods, turning his attention to Naomi. "What can I help you with?"

Raphael grins, and leaves, not that Cas notices. Naomi smiles at the same time Raphael closes the door. "I am new to this town, and I was wondering if you could show me around?"

Cas thinks it's an easy enough task, not asking too much. He tells her that it's fine, and proceeds to fill the silence with details about the town, it's inhabitants, and what people do for fun as they walk outside. It must be ingrained in his memory, because they're in front of the coffee shop Dean happens to work at.

"This is a really nice place to get quality coffee." Cas licks his lips, hating how his entire personality changes when he's with someone that's not Anna from the club.

Naomi looks around, her gaze landing on the people working behind the counter. "I'll bet. What's good here?" Cas shows her the display case for the pastries, and the menu for the drinks. She stands next to him, and Cas automatically assumes he's paying for the both of them.

Dean's working. "Hey Cas," he greets with a smile. He has the smallest bit of smudge on his jaw, and Cas points it out. Dean goes red, and discreetly wipes it away with a napkin. They've been working on Shakespeare together for the past few weeks ($360 in the bank so far), and Cas thinks they're friends, so Cas smiles. "What can I get you?"

"I will have a small coffee, black, and a plain bagel," Naomi cuts in. "Toasted, please." Dean glances at her like he hadn't noticed her before. He nods, and types the order on the register.

Cas sees her out of the corner of his eye. She's still smiling. "Medium mocha cappuccino," Cas tells Dean. "Both for here."

"Got it. It'll take a few minutes," Dean says as he backs away. Cas brings Naomi to a table, and sits down. He notices Naomi standing next to her chair, then awkwardly drag the chair out from under the table and sit down stiffly.

They sit in complete silence until Dean calls out Cas' name. He goes up, and Dean blows air out of his mouth. "Uh, no offense to whoever she is, but she scares me."

Cas laughs. "I'm terrified. She's new, so Raphael's having me show her around town." Cas rolls his eyes as he grabs the plate holding the bagel. "I can't tell if she's genuinely happy or planning to kill me."

Dean bites his lip in an effort to stop a smile, but it doesn't work. A voice breaks through, and Dean freezes.

"Castiel? What's taking so long?" Naomi comes up next to him, and glares at Dean. "I hope he's not being rude."

"He's a friend, Naomi," Cas tells her, and she narrows her eyes at Dean once more before grabbing her coffee and the plate and returning to their table. "I should go."

Dean nods, and says, "Still on for tonight?"

"Of course, Dean." Cas grins, and walks back to the table, steeling himself for whatever Naomi might say. "How's the coffee?" He asks as he sits down.

She sets the mug on the table. "It is agreeable. Though the probability of myself returning is very slim."

Cas cocks his head. "Why is that?"

Naomi scrunches her eyebrows. "Because of the service. It took far too long for my food and drink to be prepared."

He doesn't reply, just averts his eyes and looks at his coffee cup.

_It's definitely going to be a long year._


	3. Chapter 3

One day in peace is apparently too much to ask for. Just three days after dealing with Naomi, and Cas wanted a small break from everything. So he sat at the base of a tree, working on a paper he has due for one of his classes.

Then Meg decides to slither in next to him. "Hey there, gorgeous."

Cas groans, and rests his head on his notebook that's settled on his knees. "Go away, Masters."

Meg just croons. "Don't be like that, Cas." He feels her finger tracing his ear. "We've had so much fun together."

He repeatedly hits his head on his book. "If by fun you mean your group of thugs beating me up everyday then yes, we've had a blast." Cas takes a deep breath, and sits back against the tree trunk. "Where's Luke anyway?"

"He's busy," she dismisses. "I'm all yours."

"You wish," Cas retorts, his paper going untouched for the time being.

He can't see it, but he knows Meg's smiling. "You know it."

"Go away now, snake. I need to work." Cas loses his breath as Meg straddles his legs and sits on him.

"Snake? That's new," she breathes in his ear. "I like it." Cas pushes her off his lap, and he stands up, brushing off his pants. "Aw, you hurt my feelings, big boy," Meg says from her position on the ground.

Cas chuckles. "You don't have feelings, Masters," and he walks away. He turns around a building to try and find another tree to sit under, when he literally runs into Dean. Papers drop, and Cas can only laugh. "This day is going perfect," he mumbles to himself.

Dean helps gather his things, and hands them back. "Hey, man."

"Hello, Dean. Thank you for that." Cas stuff his papers and his notebook in his bag, and smooths his hair back. "I've been having an... off day."

Dean smiles. "I've had plenty of those." Cas tilts his head, a small confused smile adorning his face, but he doesn't question it. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

Cas shakes his head. "Not anything important," he finds himself saying, even though he has a five page paper due in a few days, and it's currently sitting in his backpack, one page complete. "Why? What's going on?"

"Well, uh, there's this thing going on in the center, and I was wondering if you were going?" Dean shifts his feet, not looking at Cas for more than a second.

Honestly, Cas has no idea what Dean's talking about. But, what the hell? "I wasn't planning on it, but I guess I can make it." Cas smiles as Dean's face lights up, even though he's trying to hide it. "What time?"

"It's at nine. I can come by and we can walk there together?"

"Sure." Cas grins, and waves goodbye as Dean walks away.

If anyone asked, Cas would vehemently deny that he was ogling Dean's ass.

* * *

The "thing" is a concert, a tiny fact Dean forgot to mention. Cas isn't a big fan of things like these, but he isn't leaving now. Not with Dean next to him smiling like a loon.

"My parents would drive us up here every year. We would sit," Dean points to an area on the right, "right there."

Cas watches him smile as he talks about his mother, her hair swaying as she danced with her children, and how one year his father broke his ankle, but Mary forced him to sit and watch anyways.

Dean swiftly glosses over the mention of his brother, never talking about him for too long, and Cas doesn't say anything.

"I wish my parents brought me to something like this," Cas says.

Dean turns to him, mouth agape. "You're telling me this is your first concert?" Cas nods. "So what did you sneak out for? Movies? The mall?"

Cas laughs. "I never snuck out."

Dean clutches his chest, and gasps. "What kind of kid were you?"

"The one who read books and played hockey. You're talking to the captain of the Gladiators." Cas puffs out his chest.

They sit where Dean sat as a kid. Dean laid out a blanket for them to sit on until the concert started. "But you didn't keep playing?" Dean asks.

"No point. It was fun, and I could've gotten a scholarship, but," Cas shrugs his shoulders. Dean doesn't respond, and a sad expression crossed his face. Cas has no clue why, but he elbows him in the ribs. "I don't even know who's playing."

"Mostly local bands. Never anyone too big. And they sort them by genre. Rock, pop, electronica, et cetra, et cetra," Dean explains. Cas already likes it.

"Sounds good," Cas says, and rests his arms on his drawn up knees. Dean's on his right, leaning back on his hands, and looks completely relaxed, eyes closed and everything.

For a few minutes, Cas actually panics. Is this a date? Did Dean just invite him as a friend? Did he invite other people? In the end, Cas breathes in and out enough that he's much calmer than a second ago. _It doesn't matter_, he thinks, _and I just need to enjoy the show._

A few hours ago, it was a lot warmer, one of the much warmer days in October. But now it's night, and he's freezing, dressed in a light sweater and jeans. His arms are crossed across his chest, hands inside his sleeves.

"Here." Before Cas can say otherwise, Dean drapes his worn leather jacket around Cas' shoulders. He's instantly warm, and not from the jacket.

"Thanks," Cas says, refusing to look Dean in the eye. He focuses instead on the stage, and the people setting up. And not on Dean, sitting next to him, probably cold so Cas can be warm.

He tries, tries his hardest to relax, _he does_. But then he spots something out of the corner of his eye. By something, he means a certain group of people.

Cas lets go of his knees, and moves back so Dean's blocking his face. Dean doesn't notice. Now Cas is pretty much trapped. If he stayed, they're going to come over. If he left, they would see and follow him.

He's about to tell Dean that he's going to the bathroom, when he realizes there's _the other group_ standing across the field.

Neither notice Cas is sitting on a picnic blanket with Dean. He's going to try and keep it that way. _Try._

Raphael is glaring at Luke, Meg is smirking at Naomi, who's stone-faced next to Raphael. This won't end well.

"Great,' Dean says, startling Cas out of his staring. "They're here. Can't they go _not_ fight somewhere else?"

Cas chuckles, kind of nervously, but Dean doesn't seem to notice. "I know."

Cas thinks that he's okay, that they'll glare until their eyes dry out and then they'll leave. But life isn't fair, and that's not what happens.

Meg's scanning the area, and their eyes meet. She smiles, licks her lips, and taps Luke on the shoulder. She whispers in his ear, and Luke turns to Cas.

He grins.

They start walking over.

Cas doesn't even notice Dean's arm resting behind him.

* * *

_This seems like a really short chapter... oh well. I seem to update really randomly, and this is the last of the pre-written story. So I'm apologizing in advance if it takes longer to update. Sorry again :(_


	4. Chapter 4

_I sincerely apologize for the sporadic updates... Angst portion of the fic. Also, Cas!whump and slightly hurt!Dean._

* * *

"Uh, dude?" Dean says, nudging his side. "Any reason they're looking at you like they want to eat you?"

Luke's gliding over, Meg at his side, and his croonies close behind them. They have to cross the entire field, so Cas has some time to think. Luke's got four guys with him, Meg not included, and Cas realizes one of them is Alastair, meanest and most sadistic son of a bitch Cas has ever met.

Fight or flight. Both options suck. He doesn't want to leave, but he also doesn't want Dean to get hurt because of him.

"Dean," Cas says, body tensing as Meg licks her lips lasciviously at him. "I really don't want to, but I have to go." He's hoping to escape in the crowd before Luke can find him.

Dean stands with him. "Why? What's wrong?"

Cas turns, and people around him are standing up, blocking his sight of Luke. The concert must be starting soon. Hopefully, he can get away and Dean can enjoy the show with someone else. Someone that isn't treated like a punching bag.

"Sorry. I have to go." Cas elbows his way through the crowd, some people glaring at him, and others giving him a dopey smile. "Excuse me. Pardon me." He may be being chased by his tormentors, but he won't forget his manners.

He finally gets out, and is ready to run away when he hears bone snapping. When he turns to the crowd, he sees bone isn't broken, but Dean's standing in front of a bloody-nosed Luke. Meg is growling at him, teeth bared, and Alastair's grin is stretched across his face.

"Hey Luke!" Cas shouts, and all their heads whip to look at him. "Looking for me? Bet I'm faster than you!" He's fully prepared to sprint away again, when Dean yells out and falls to the ground, hand clutching his stomach. Luke brings his knee up, and Dean lands on his back, his nose now bleeding, but at least he's conscious.

Cas waves his hands, and starts to back away, fully sprinting less than a second later as the group starts to catch up to him. He turns to the right on the street, and meets Alastair's chest at full speed, knocking them both down. He kicks, claws, tries everything to get the iron grip off his ribs.

He thinks Alastair will actually crush him to death when he lets up, allowing Cas to breathe in deep, but painful, gulps of air. Alastair has a hand on his wrist, and Cas will probably have a bruise there tomorrow.

Someone kneels down in front of him. "I don't want to fight you, Castiel," Luke says. "You have potential."

"Potential for what?" He asks, pain radiating across his chest and stomach.

Luke smiles. "You aren't part of your little religious camp, or whatever. You and that little red-head."

"Leave her alone," Cas immediately says, wanting Anna to stay safe.

Luke laughs. "I'm not going to hurt her, not like you. You're strong, Castiel. You have a bit of a fan club around here." Meg laughs from the background, but he hears another, deeper one as well.

"So what? Few fans want an autograph, so they almost kill me? Good plan." Cas coughs, and it rattles his ribs.

Luke tilts Cas' head up, turns it side to side, and squeezes his jaw before letting it drop. "Rebellious. That's what we need more of. You are truly amazing, Castiel." Luke whistles a little tune before backing away from Cas' face.

The last thing Cas sees before blacking out is a boot heading for his face.

* * *

He wakes up in pain. His face feels puffed up and is in shooting pain, but at the same time, numb. His ribs protest breathing, and his entire body feels like it was crushed under a stampede. Possibly an elephant stampede.

Cas hears someone walking around his room, so he opens his eyes.

Wait...

This isn't his room. This isn't his apartment. In fact, he's almost sure he's in heaven because white light is blinding him.

"Hello," he tries to say, but his throat is dry and can't get the words out. He coughs, and the pain in his body rockets through him. Cas groans.

"I got it, you big baby." The lights dim, and Cas can finally fully open his eyes.

Okay, that's definitely Dean. He's almost 60% sure. Mostly because he has to close his eyes again because he feels like he could sleep for another hundred years. And he's about to when a hand lands and shakes his shoulder. "Sorry, buddy. You gotta stay awake for a bit."

Cas blinks away the sleep, and Dean's there, smiling down at him. "Hello, Dean." Then he notices the already yellowing bruises under his eyes. "Your face..."

The skin over his nose is also broken, a butterfly bandage over the bridge. Dean smiles. "Not the first. Don't worry about it."

Cas glares. Before he can say a word, he hears, "I'm gunna kill that asshole!" And that's his beautiful friend Jo. The door bursts open, and Jo's eyes are red. In fact, her entire face is red. "I hope you heard that!"

Cas smiles. It's all he can really do. A nurse squeezes by the enraged blonde. "Hello, Castiel. My name's Diane." She walks to the end of his bed and flips through his chart. "So, no solid foods for a week. Your jaw is severely injured. It's not broken and it doesn't need any wire, but it's better to let it heal."

He doesn't like that very much, but he'll have to deal. The thought of protein shakes makes him shiver. The nurse gives him a small, sad smile, and continues. "You also have a broken nose, five fractured ribs, two broken ones, a broken right arm, and a concussion. You'll be staying in the hospital for the next few days so we can monitor your health."

Nodding, Cas sighs. He really doesn't want to sit in a hospital bed and watch daytime television for the next however-many days, but he'll cope.

Diane hooks the clipboard back onto his bed, and leaves, and Cas has to deal with Jo now. "Jo," he starts.

"I am literally going to kill you. I'm going to take a pillow and smother you in your sleep," Jo warns with a death glare. Cas shuts up. "If Dean didn't find you when he did, you'd be _dead_. You are lucky you got out the way you did... Jerk."

Cas glances at Dean, and sees him picking his nails, and not looking anywhere but down at his hands.

"Who did it?" Jo asks, tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. "Cas, tell me who did this, so help me God."

"I..." Cas scrunched his face as he thinks. "I think..."

"You really don't remember?" Dean asks, hands tapping against his hip, and Cas is completely focused on the beat he forgets about the question until Dean snaps his fingers and repeats it.

"Uh," Cas scratches his head with his good arm. Small flashes of last night (last night, right?) come back, and he partially remembers. "Luke, Meg, and Alastair. I remember them. And we were at the, uh, the concert, right?" Dean nods. "Okay, okay. Then, uh..."

"I punched Luke," Dean supplies.

"Right," Cas says slowly. A flash of red. A bright, menacing smile. "Naomi. She was there too." Dean furrows his eyebrows and opens his mouth.

Jo huffs and her hands fall to her waist, slapping against her legs, muting Dean for the moment. "That's it. We're going to the cops." She makes for the door when Cas calls out, "Jo! Wait!" She stops.

"I don't want to," he admits, scratching the part of his arm not covered by cast. "If I do, they'll come after me harder than before. I don't want you two hurt. Anna, either." Jo visibly flinches, and Cas knows he won. "Just, leave it. Okay?"

Jo mumbles out an, "okay," clearly not wanting to, and then Cas turns and finally gets to glare at Dean, finishing what he was going to say earlier. "Of course I'm going to worry. You weren't supposed to get hurt."

Jo shuffles awkwardly, and kisses Cas' forehead with the promise of coming by tomorrow with breakfast ("Breakfast shake," she corrects with a laugh). He waves goodbye. "Why did you do that?" He says as the door closes.

Dean chuckles, and sits back in his chair. "You're a fucking dick, you know that?"

Cas rolls his eyes. "Yes. Get to the point."

"Listen, forget what I just said. Doesn't matter right now. You said you saw Naomi. But I only saw her when she saw with Raphael."

He shrugs. "All I know is that she was there"

Dean sighs, and sits in a chair next to Cas' bed. He runs his hands through his hair, and covers his face. "God I really hate hospitals."

"Why?"

In response, Dean clears his throat. "My brother."

"Sam?" As Cas is saying this, Dean pulls out his phone, and shows Cas a picture of a young man, a little younger than Dean, and Dean. They're both young, Dean's probably sixteen, seventeen, and both are smiling.

"One if the few good pictures I have of him." Dean takes his phone back, and sighs looking at the picture. "God..."

Cas doesn't know the protocol here, so he stays silent.

"My brother is, was, whatever, a drug addict," and holy shit. Cas shifts on the bed, and winces when his injured skin moves. "High school was tough for him because he was the smallest in the school, and some junior named Ruby introduced him to the heavy stuff off the bat. Up until freshman year of college, he was a mess of rehab and relapses and I couldn't help him. I wasn't there for him."

Cas lets out a breath, and doesn't stop looking at Dean's now shaking hands. "So he was constantly in hospitals. Trying to get better?"

Dean just laughs, and stands up, stretching. Cas doesn't even look at the skin that showed when his shirt rode up his stomach. "See ya later, Cas."

"Dean?" Cas asks to Dean's back. "Dean, get back here."

He spins on his heel. "Why? So I can cry my feelings out to some stranger?" _Ow_. "I don't think so. Feel better. Bye." Double _ow._

Cas hears the door close, not slammed shut like he thought it would be, and to numb the pain (both inside _and_ out), Cas clicks the morphine button, ignoring the memories trying to slam their way through the foggy barrier, and sleeps.

* * *

_Oh my god. This is- I'm so sorry. I don't even know where I'm going with this yet. Uh, review?_


	5. Chapter 5

_I was working on this when I should have been doing my college essay. Oops. Also, thank you all for the amazing reviews! They make my day like you wouldn't believe ❤️_

* * *

Cas stays in the hospital for a total of five days. Jo was there to escort him from the wheelchair to her mother Ellen's car that she borrowed for the special occasion.

"You? And driving?" Cas smirks as she glares at him. "Maybe I should drive."

He narrowly avoids getting punched in the arm due to his multiple injuries, and he's thankful Jo decides to let it wash over her. "Cute," she says as she starts the car up. "You're lucky I'm not driving you straight to The Roadhouse. Mum's been going crazy wanting to see you and wanting to kill those sons of bitches that did that to you."

Cas makes a noncommittal noise, and stares out the window, his broken arm in his lap. He really doesn't want to go back to school, more worried about facing Dean than Luke or Raphael. Although, Cas has no idea how Raphael will react. He winces as he draws in a sharp breath, ribs still healing.

By the time Jo reaches Cas' apartment, Cas is close to falling asleep. She helps him up the stairs, unlocks the door for him, and lays him down gently. Her promise is the same as in the hospital (breakfast in bed), and shuts the door silently behind her.

Cas falls asleep within moments.

And then wakes up with a hand on his wrist. He sees red hair, and immediately thinks Anna. But her hair isn't the same shade as this person.

Shit.

"Castiel, please calm down. I am unable to calculate your heart rate if you stress out like this," Naomi says, keeping her eyes on her watch. Cas is honestly surprised to find that her fingers are gentle, not piercing his skin like he thought when he first saw her.

He gives her two seconds of silence before he asks, "What are you doing?"

Naomi ignores him, then nods when she's satisfied with whatever she figures out. Cas finally looks at her face, and she looks tired. Like she spent all night writing a paper and forgot her morning cup of coffee.

"What do you remember on the night you were attacked?"

"Why does it matter?" Cas snaps back. "While you're at it, why are you even here?" Cas' erratic breathing is taking a toll on his consciousness, the pain almost making him pass out.

Naomi's face remains passive, not betraying a single emotion on her surprisingly soft face. "I saved you, Castiel. Not Dean Winchester like you were told. I was the one who stopped the bleeding, who breathed life into you."

Cas' jaw drops at the implication that he now owed her his life. "No. You left with Raphael. I saw you leave."

"Did you?" She retorts. "Are you positive? Do you have not one doubt in your mind that it _might_ have been me to save you. Yes, Dean did call an ambulance. _After_ I kept you from dying."

Cas just shakes his head. "Dean didn't tell me that you were there. Why wouldn't he tell me?"

"He just wants to manipulate you, Castiel. Can't you see that?"

"And you're not?" Cas's brain is pounding against his skull, apparently wanting to break free. He pushes his hand against the side of his head, hoping to dull the pain. It didn't really work.

Something wet and warm is shoved against his lips, and he's swallowing mysterious liquid without realizing it.

Within moments, and against his will, Cas is asleep again.

* * *

Waking up the second time around was actually a lot better than before. His body didn't feel like it was laying on a bed of glass and his brain was resting peacefully and not bouncing around his skull.

Cas hears someone poking around his kitchen, and he can't even stand up to see who it might be. "Hello?" He calls out, praying that he didn't just alert a could-be robber that he was awake.

"Bloody hell, Cas. I know for a fact that you have money. So tell me why you're living in a desert?" Balthazar walks into Cas' room, and Cas smiles widely.

"What are you doing here?" Cas asks.

Balthazar taps his finger against his chin, and walks over to Cas' bed, plopping down next to him. Cas yelps in pain when his body is shaken. "Big baby," Balthazar quips, and grabs the remote to the TV and turns it on. "Little birdy told me about your little problem."

Jo. Always Jo.

"Not a problem. I'll deal with it." Cas turns his head away from his favorite cousin, and gingerly crosses his arm across his chest. "You didn't have to come. I'm fine."

"Clearly," Balthazar drawls, rolling his eyes. Cas huffs, and watches the TV. Balthazar chose to watch Top Gear, and Cas was pretty sure he recognized that blonde haired man in the background-

"Balthazar, weren't you _in_ this episode?" Cas asks.

Balthazar scoffs. "Why do you think I'm watching it, little cousin?" He tries to mess Cas' hair up, but Cas bats away his hand before he gets the chance.

They sit in silence for the remainder of the episode, laughing while the star of the week cursing out while he drives the car around the track, and even though Cas' body is on fire from the exertion, it's probably the most fun he's had in a while.

"How long are you staying?" Cas asks when Balthazar comes back from getting Cas a glass of water to take his medicine.

Balthazar just shrugs. "As soon as you agree to come back to England with me." He doesn't even flinch when Cas spits the pill and water in his face.

Cas wipes his mouth and chin as Balthazar wipes his entire face. "Excuse me?"

Balthazar sighs. "You can transfer into the school I'm attending at any time. Of course, I'm not sure you can transfer _out_ whenever you like, but that can be thought on later."

"Balth, I can't just... _leave_. I have friends here."

Balthazar narrows his eyes at Cas, but Cas doesn't cave. Balthazar holds up three fingers. "Anna, Jo, and the bloke you're in a fight with like a married couple."

Cas blushes. "We're not friends."

"Not what Jo told me." He leans in closer. "You do realize she's _the_ friend everybody needs."

"Of course I do." Cas glances at Balthazar. "Don't even think about it."

Balthazar holds up his hands in surrender. "She told me as much. You do also realize she's scary as fuck, right?"

Cas laughs, and nods. "She's my bodyguard. She has to be."

"What, she take a break for the night?" And now Balthazar is frowning at his hands. "Who did it, Cas?"

"Balth, don't worry about it. Really."

"Cas!" He yells, and Cas jumps. Balthazar angrily runs his hands through his hair. Cas has to admit it _looks_ painful. "This is the reason I'm here. Jo told me about what they do, what _Raphael_ does. It's not right."

"So you're trying to _save_ me? Who am I, Rapunzel? Needing to be saved from her tower? I don't think so." He doesn't even realize that he's almost repeating what Dean told him what feels like so long ago.

Balthazar points at him. "You're going to end up dead if you stay. And I won't let that happen." Balthazar grabs Cas' phone on the bedside table, and Cas cocks his head to the left, confused at what he's doing.

He taps something on Cas' phone, and smiles. "There. I bet _he'll_ agree with me."

Cas' eyes widen in horror, and he watches as Balthazar holds the phone so Cas can see what he wrote.

_Dean, we need to talk._


	6. Chapter 6

_Just to let you know, Dean's a senior in college._

* * *

Dean storms out of the hospital, more upset with himself than at Cas.

"Friggin' Cas," he mutters, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and walking down the sidewalk. He doesn't get very far before he stops and plops down on a bench.

He had _never_ told anyone about Sam before. Not because he was ashamed or anything, but because people always looked at _him_ differently. Not that it was a bad thing, but it got annoying after a while. Then people try to intervene and help Sam, and it ends up a mess.

At the moment, Sam's in South Dakota with their Uncle Bobby, fixing up cars for money and going to school. Bobby regularly checks in, and so far, Sam's been fine. No signs of regression; nothing to indicate he fell off the wagon. Dean sighs, and stands up.

He was a jerk, he knows that, and now he's going to fix it. Dean walks back into the hospital, glad he didn't rip off his visitor's pass when he walked out. But by the time he reaches Cas' room, Cas' already fast asleep.

Dean waves goodnight to the receptionist and a few of the nurses, and promises himself as he throws away the sticker that he will be back tomorrow to fix it all.

And he really is going to. Cas is a good friend, and he wants to keep it that way. Well, maybe not _just _a friend. Shit, this is difficult.

Until Bobby called as Dean was getting dressed the next morning. "Dean."

"Hey Bobby. What's up?" Dean sits on the bed, tugging on his boots and tying them.

Bobby sighs, and Dean freezes. "I found them in the toolbox I let him use."

Dean frowns, and rests his head on his hand, elbows on his knees. "Damn it. I thought he was making progress?"

"Me too. I guess something must have hit him hard. Memory, something in school. I don't want to ask and have him go into a fit and leave."

"Yeah," Dean says, throat closing up. "That's not something we need right now."

They sit in silence for a few minutes. Dean goes over what he could do. He could go to South Dakota, take a few days off from school, figure out what's going on with Sam. He doesn't even want to consider what might happen if he stays and something happens to Sam.

"I'll email my teachers, let them know I'll be out for a few days. Uh," Dean looks around the room. "Hour and a half to pack? It's," Dean looks at his watch, "9:50 now. I can leave by 11, 11:30? Get there by night?"

Bobby sounds like he might reject the idea, but then sighs. "Good to me. I'll keep my eye on him more. See what he does. Don't speed getting here. We don't need you in a hospital, now."

Shit. Cas. "Uh, yeah. I will. See you soon." Dean hangs up, and closes his eyes.

Then he stands and starts packing.

* * *

Dean pulls into Bobby's garage late at night, exhausted and cranky. He wants to go back, apologize to Cas (with lips), and not have to think about Sam overdosing and dying every second of the day.

He would have just called Cas, but it sounded too impersonal even in his own head. So he vowed to talk to him when he got back.

Dean honks the horn once, signaling his arrival, and pops the trunk. He grabs his suitcase, and closes the trunk, dragging his bag behind him as he walks to the porch. Sam opens the door, looking healthy and well.

"Dean. Want some help?"

Dean nods, barely standing on his feet, and stumbles past his brother, wanting to go to bed as quickly as possible. "'Night"

"Oh, uh, ok," Sam stutters, and pulls Dean's suitcase as he follows Dean to one of the spare rooms upstairs. Deans falls facefirst into bed, and doesn't even realize Sam leaving his bag in the room and not moving for a few minutes.

For the first time in a while, Dean gets to wake up to the smell of breakfast cooking. He groans and rubs his eye with his fist, waking himself up.

He can hear a pan sizzling and pancakes flipping and Sam humming along to the music playing softly on the radio. Dean makes a beeline for the coffee maker, only to have Sam point to a steaming mug on the table, no cream or sugar added.

Dean smiles and hits Sam's shoulder. "My hero." Sam pushes him away and laughs, facing the stove. Dean sits at the small square table and sighs as he drinks his coffee.

"Just a few more minutes," Sam says. Dean nods and takes another sip of coffee. Sam takes the last pancake, flops it on the plate with the finished ones, grabs the bacon out of a pan and eggs from another. He divides the food three ways, covering the one meant for Bobby. "He gets up early, but doesn't come in for a while," Sam explains as he sits down across from Dean.

"Well he's missing out." Dean rubs his hands together with a wide grin, and goes for the bacon first.

They both finish relatively quickly, and Dean cleans up the table, washing all the dishes as Sam dries them. They're a good team. Always have been.

"So, uh," Dean starts, scrubbing a ketchup spot on his plate, "how's school."

Sam's eyes light up, but he tries to cover it up with a horribly disguised shrug of his shoulders. "It's going well. Classes are interesting. New friends-"

"Friends?" Dean asks, raising an eyebrow and passing the plate to Sam.

"Yeah. There's Chuck, Aaron, Gabriel, Amy, and Sarah." Dean definitely noticed the hint of a pause before Sarah, so whoever she was, Dean is sure going to find out. But then he realized...

"Wait, you said Gabriel?" Dean asks, putting down the sponge and plate. Sam nods. "It wouldn't happen to be Gabriel Novak, would it?"

Sam nods slowly. "Uh yeah. He works at the pizza place we always go to. So he became our additional friend. Wait, how do you know him?"

Dean gulps. "I know his brother, Castiel."

"Castiel? Strange name." Sam keeps drying.

Dean stays silent, and washes the dishes he has left. He has to go see Gabriel. Tell him about Cas and Raphael and Luke. Maybe he can help. "So," Dean prods, "who's Sarah?"

Sam goes red, and stutters. "She's just, uh, just a friend. That's it. Amy's nice too. She helped me on my first day. Couldn't find the science hall. Ha!"

Dean lets Sam have his distraction, and grabs the keys to the Impala and his coat when they are finally done. "Let's go for a drive, Sammy." Dean ruffles Sam's ridiculously long hair. "Get a haircut, dude."

"I like it this way," Sam says, fixing his hair again. He gets into the car without a word, and buckles in. Dean follows suit, and they drive off, note on the table for Bobby.

It takes half an hour to get to the main part of town, because Bobby lives in the middle of the goddamn woods. Sam directs him around, pointing out things Dean already know are there, until they find a parking spot.

"We usually hang out over there underneath the tree. Me and Aaron sit in the trees while Amy, Sarah, and Chuck sit on the ground. Let me just say, it's way more fun in the trees."

Dean tries to listen, but Sam's talking so fast it's hard to keep up. So he listens to Sam's voice as they walk, hands in his pocket, and constantly glances over to his younger brother, wondering how on Earth they got here. Dean not trusting Sam by himself, Sam nervous around his brother (because Dean can tell).

"-where Gabriel works. Really good food, shitty service." Dean perks up, and looks at where his brother is looking. The place is nice, clean, almost new against the backdrop of the dark brick and wood of the surrounding buildings.

"Let's go say hi," Dean says, already holding the door open for Sam. Sam goes cautiously.

Inside is nothing special. Booths against the walls of the small room, tables in the center, and the few people that were in here looked up, only to look back down. Except for a girl sitting by herself in a booth.

"Sam!" The brunette called out, waving to them.

Sam turns to Dean, clearly frightened. "Dude-"

"Sam," she says as she walks up to the brothers. She looks at Dean with a questioning look. "Who's this?"

Sam gulps. "Sarah, this is Dean, my brother."

_So this is Sarah,_ Dean thinks, and then smiles as Sarah does.

"Dean. So nice to meet you. Sam's told me all about you." Sarah tucks a hair behind her head and glances at Sam, who's now completely red-faced.

Dean laughs. "I hope he said some good about me."

"More bad than good, I'm afraid." Sarah elbows Sam in the ribs playfully, and Sam offers her a small smile. "C'mon. I'm eating by myself today, so you two will have to suffice for my dates." Sarah hooks her arms in theirs, dragging them to the empty table.

They sit, Sarah and Sam on one side and Dean on the other. Dean's not sure how she did that, but he gives her a small wink only she can see. She smirks.

"So," Dean says, elbows on the table. "How long have you known my brother?"

He doesn't notice the pair of faux gold eyes staring at him from the back of the kitchen.


End file.
